Google Maps ready to charge

Normally you would treat your larger customers better, but it seems as though Google is going to reverse that policy by charging the heavy users of Google Maps more in the future. Currently, the service is free, but it seems that from 1 January 2012 onwards, the Google Maps API service will start counting dollars and cents when it surpasses the limit of 25,000 map “hits” made in a day. Established travel firms will most probably not be too happy with this, since plenty of them use Google Maps to link customers to a view of the destinations that their own customers inquire about.

It is whispered that Google has bandied about the figure of $4 per 1,000 views above the limit, and according to Google, the charging tier “will only affect 0.35% of users”. Thor Mitchell, product manager of the Maps API at Google said, “We understand that the introduction of these limits may be concerning. However, with the continued growth in adoption of the Maps API, we need to secure its long-term future by ensuring that even when used by the highest-volume for-profit sites, the service remains viable. ”